Justin Gaethje speaks with President Donald Trump after defeating Ilia Topuria in a lightweight title fight during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 15, 2026 in Washington, DC (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday in the cage on Sunday at a multimillion-dollar, bloody mixed martial arts event on the South Lawn of the White House, punctuated by fighter jet flyovers, a live military band and fireworks to mark the country’s 250th anniversary.
This included spreading a conspiracy theory about a former first lady, Michelle Obama, during comments made by one of the participants after the fight.
The acting Promoted by the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship under the name Freedom 250, the film was shown exclusively on the paid subscription platform Paramount+. The event organized by Trump had no connection to the national nonpartisan organization America 250, a commission created by Congress.
Aside from a bloody sport taking place in the White House backyard, the evening marked the premiere of several other extraordinary sights. This included live pre-fight sports commentary from inside the White House and fighters warming up in offices-turned-locker rooms in the neighboring Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
VIPs, including members of Congress and tech giants, sat under the lights of the short-lived arena, which can hold up to 4,300 guests. Tens of thousands of UFC fans crowded into the Ellipse, where the fights were shown on two giant screens.
According to a government court, the event cost $60 million submission. VIP sponsorship packages, including the opportunity to sit in the cage under “the Claw,” cost up to the widely reported price of $1.5 million.
Between praise for the American military and Jesus Christ, fighters from inside the “Octagon” delivered insulting comments peppered with profanities. Two American fighters, Bo Nikal and Josh Hokit, thanked Trump for having “the guts” to host the event at the White House.
Hokit, a former NFL player, insulted Brazilian fighter Alex Pereira’s mother in his live post-fight comments to hugely popular podcast host Joe Rogan, then repeated a right-wing conspiracy theory in which he claimed former first lady Michelle Obama was “a man.”
Gifts from Josh Hokit @POTUS his chain
pic.twitter.com/506ZwmKavg
– Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) June 15, 2026
Rogan did not dispute the comment. Shortly after his remarks, Hokit placed his victory necklace around Trump’s neck and the two shook hands. The moment was captured and posted on social media by White House Special Assistant Margo Martin.
The Official UFC YouTube Clip The California heavyweight’s speech does not include his unfounded insult to Obama.
Bright lights and flyovers
Spotlights from the UFC’s 92-foot-tall steel roof, which dwarfed the White House and towered over the “Octagon” cage, were evident in the night sky of neighborhoods around Washington, D.C., and several residents took to social media to complain about being woken up by a flyover of a B-1 bomber at 11:30 p.m. Eastern. The fireworks continued to explode until almost 1:30 a.m
With drinks in hand, US soldiers in short-sleeved dress uniforms celebrated from their seats – several sailors even took part in the “YMCA” dance, while the Marine Corps band performed a live cover of the 1978 Village People hit, a staple of Trump’s events.
Trump and UFC boss Dana White entered the arena shortly before 8:30 p.m. Moments later, a dozen fighter jets in a joint “Super Delta” formation of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Navy Blue Angels flew overhead during country star Zac Brown’s national anthem.
Trump sat directly beneath the fighting cage between first lady Melania Trump and White, an ally who has given prime-time speeches in support of Trump at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Republican national conventions.
Trump was surrounded by his family, including his son Barron, who sat behind him and shook hands with several guests who approached the president, according to bundled communications from the White House press corps.
Several victorious fighters jumped over the cage railing after each bout to shake the president’s hand.
Eight US fighter jets
Of the 14 participants on the seven-fight card, eight were Americans. The outbreaks of violence were accompanied by shouts of “USA!” and various taunts, including calls for Canada to be “the 51st state” when American bantamweight fighter Sean O’Malley defeated Canadian Aiemann Zahabi. Trump applauded O’Malley and shook his hand after the one-on-one fight.
The main event featured a title fight between lightweight American Justin Gaethje and Spanish-Georgian Ilia Topuria. Officials named Gaethje the winner shortly after 1 a.m. as the badly battered Topuria, with a bloody face, was declared unfit to continue, according to pool reports.
The fighters were paid a $250,000 performance bonus sponsored by World Liberty Financial, a Trump family cryptocurrency company. after Announcer to send.
Cameras providing the exclusive Paramount stream showed notable lawmakers and tech moguls in the crowd, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., former wrestler and college wrestling coach Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The press corps reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was also nearby.
Pool reports said Trump, Zuckerberg and White spoke for several minutes during a break in the fight just before 10 p.m.
Other notable guests included Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.comone of the two main sponsors of the event, and Polish President Karol Nawrocki.
According to press reports, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal defense attorney and his nominee for attorney general, shook hands as he walked through the crowd. Several other members of the presidential Cabinet were in attendance, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who on Thursday held a “Sports diplomacy” agreement with UFC.
Also in attendance was David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, whose acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly cost $111 billion deleted decided by the Justice Department on Friday, an essential final step for the merger.
Paramount+ has inked a $7.7 billion, multi-year content deal to exclusively broadcast UFC events.
The event, which was scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., was delayed by about an hour due to the threat of thunderstorms. The fighting ended shortly after 1 a.m
The weekend’s festivities included a UFC press conference Friday night in front of the Lincoln Memorial and a two-day fan festival at the Ellipse featuring motorcycle stunts by Nitro Circus and a concert by the Georgia-based Zac Brown Band.
The UFC controlled media accreditation for the event on the White House grounds.
“No Kings” protest
The event was heavily criticized but remained unscathed until the eleventh hour suit Challenging the legality of the UFC’s apply of the White House Lawn.
Artists and celebrities held a counter-concert organized by the Committee for the First Amendment, an activist coalition of artists led by Jane Fonda.
The protest organization No Kings promoted a livestream from New York City’s City Hall and encouraged people to organize remote watching parties for the “Rise Up, Sing Out” concert featuring Patti Smith, Bette Midler and Rufus Wainwright and others.
C-SPAN also streamed the nearly two-and-a-half hour show concertalthough some performances were muted due to licensing restrictions.
